The shop of the late Hareb Muhammad bin Masoud Al Tunaiji, in the city of Al Dhaid of the Emirate of Sharjah, was not just a place for sale and gain. Rather, since its inception in the early forties of the last century, it was a space for daily encounters between neighbors, renewing familiarity and love between them, in addition to providing household items for the people of the region. Due to the difficulty of people moving between Al Dhaid and the commercial heart of the emirate in Sharjah, due to the lack of vehicles for everyone, the way to go and back took about five days, but today the shopper goes to Hareb’s shop to live the experience of the past that moved to the present, and many are happy to accompany their children to buy drinks and sweets that they had when they were young.
“Dukan Hareb”, which is now located in the restored and developed area in Al Dhaid, went through three stages, as the restoration of the area is in harmony with its heritage composition.
And from inside the market, which took on a traditional architectural character, we spoke with the grandson Nasser bin Khamis bin Harib Al Tunaiji, who mentioned that the shop was located in another area in 1946, and was built at that time with materials of palm fronds in the form of a pergola or palm tree tent, and its founder was the late Harib Muhammad bin Masoud Al-Tunaiji goes to distant markets to bring flour, rice, coffee, sugar and sea salt, and after the folk houses were built, the shop moved to the current place and built rooms and stores for dates and a staple for molasses and foodstuffs, and later he entered cans and soft drinks, and today the shop in the heritage market behind Al-Dhaid Fort is a symbol For sustainability from the past to tomorrow, the family has been given a place to refresh better.
After Hareb passed away, it was necessary to keep his biography alive, and Harib was not just a merchant or seller, but rather a social helper, as he bartered those who did not have money for foodstuffs or consumables.
Al-Tunaiji stressed the importance of taking care of the legacy of the ancestors because it was not easy at that time, as there was no electric power and modern transportation, and because the people in the Emirates are certain of the importance of their heritage as they are still investing in it, and this investment comes commercially and also promotes it because it is a mirror that reflects effort and effort, and it is beautiful That the government agencies of the various emirates support and encourage the Emiratis to move forward, as we also work in modern ways to preserve the heritage, and it is not surprising in the amount of admiration that appears, whether when holding foreign exhibitions, leading to the establishment of special sections for heritage in local festivals and conferences, and the agencies work in the country By adding sections and pavilions that host a large part of the heritage keepers, craftsmen and merchants of heritage products.
